Taking Turns
by ShirleyTemple24
Summary: The adorable that is a baby Almeida boy and his sleepy parents. Enough said.  Post-S4 AU fluff, of course.  Oneshot.


_Author's Note: Yes, another ultra-fluffy, Almeida!baby fic. What can I say? They're too cute! (And there may be even more Almeida!babies to come in the future.. They've been keeping me busy. Hehe.) I've had this story sitting around for a while and finally decided to post it... Hope you love the sleepy Almeidas as much as I do. ;) _

_P.S. Your reviews make me smile! :))_

**Taking Turns**

The loud cry of an infant woke Michelle up only three hours after she'd finally fallen asleep. She turned in bed a little, and when the cry sounded again she opened her heavy eyes and lackadaisically slid out of bed. Exhaustion possessed her body, due to the fact she still wasn't fully accustomed to being woken up every couple hours by a crying or fussy infant.

The baby's cries became louder and she began moving out of bed. Being their firstborn, he was pretty spoiled. He didn't have to plea too many times to get either her or Tony to rush to his side.

Beside her, Tony shifted and turned to face her through his own heavy eyes in the mostly-dark room. "You ok? You need anything?" he asked, groggily.

"I'm gonna feed him. Go back to sleep, sweetheart," Michelle instructed him, equally groggily. She moved to the bassinet that held their crying son.

Unaware of Tony's continued gaze, Michelle held their little Anthony and began cooing him. "Shh, shh.. It's all right, sweetie. Mommy's here."

The boy's wailing barely subsided until Michelle settled back down on the bed against the headboard and began to breastfeed him. She yawned and smiled slightly at the now calmed infant in her arms before turning to her half-asleep husband. Tony seemed to want to get up, but lacked the energy. She looked down at him and spoke in a low voice, "Honey, sleep... We're good."

"Are you sure?" he managed to slip through a yawn, and before she finished saying yes his eyes were already closed again. He subconsciously moved his hand to her leg before falling back into a sleeping state.

Michelle yawned again and smiled down at the baby whose gentle eyes were closed peacefully as he was being fed. He was such a sweet little boy. She brought her her hand to his little cheek and gently brushed it with the knuckle of her index finger, noting that a lot of his features were already favoring her husband.

He squirmed and fussed a little as Michelle turned him around to switch sides. "Shh, it's all right, Anthony."

Her eyes began closing as she continued feeding him. More exhaustion crept up into her and she shifted her body to find a more comfortable position. Middle-of-the-night feedings were the hardest, but luckily Anthony was a good baby and didn't make too much trouble for them.

Back at CTU she could receive a phone call at any hour of the night and have to show up to work on her A-game, ready to face anything. For some reason it didn't seem as easy with the baby. For one thing, though she wasn't _old_, she was _older_ and her youthful buoyancy wasn't as present as it once was. And though less stress was involved with taking care of a baby than with saving the country, it was physically and emotionally tiring all the same. It was raising her child, after all.

Once he was finished, Michelle strapped her nursing bra back into place and carried the tiny sleeping form back to the bassinet after planting a feather-light kiss on his dark, fuzzy head. As soon as she got back under the covers and her head hit the pillow, she was sleeping again.

* * *

><p>Another sharp cry broke the air of the moonlit room. It was much too loud to be the cry of a two-month-old baby, Tony thought, but apparently these were the noises they made. It was 3:30am and it had only been two hours since he'd last cried before Michelle had fed him. Tony felt Michelle shift in bed and when the cry sounded again, he felt her throw the sheets off her body. He shifted then too and opened his eyes to see his wife. "No, honey, don't get up, I'll get him."<p>

"He's probably hungry again, Tony. I should feed him." Michelle countered through drowsy whispers.

"Nah, he probably just wants his dad." He kissed his wife's forehead. "It's a'right, sweetheart. Your turn to sleep."

She almost protested, but surrendered to accepting his offer as she closed her eyes again. She gave him a barely noticeable smile and "thanks" before he kicked off the sheets and started around the bed to the bassinet in his white t-shirt and sweatpants.

The cries continued even after Tony picked up the fragile infant and rocked him tenderly. "Hey, buddy. Shh.. it's ok, Anth, I got ya... I got ya."

Still rocking him, Tony patted his son's back as he held him closely against his warm torso. He kissed Anthony's head softly and consoled him more until his cries began to dissipate. "Aww, there you go, sweetheart. That's my good boy."

Tony continued to repeat the processes until Anthony's cries decreased to light whimpers and then to silence as he peacefully slept again in Tony's arms. The feeling of his child and the little lowering and rising chest against his own comforted him. He whispered into his son's head, "I love you, sweet little boy."

When he finally returned Anthony to the bassinet after a half hour - despite his exhaustion, the baby was addicting and he barely had the will to put him down - he traced his thumb lightly over his barely-there eyebrow and closed eye. Tony loved his eyes. They were Michelle's eyes... what he'd hoped they would be. He couldn't stop appreciating them.

Before going back to bed, he spent minutes in a chair beside his son just watching him breathe. Watching the subtle movements from his chest and occasional fluttering of his eyes. He smiled at the tiny little sleeping thing. This was his baby. His and Michelle's baby. His little Anthony. Their little Anthony. He'd said it and thought it in his head a million times, but each time offered the same amazement and excitement and love as the first.

When his eyes stopped agreeing with his fight to stay awake, he went back to bed and slept, but not before watching Michelle the same way for a minute - his eyes taking in her breathing and sleeping. He could do it all day. Just watch her... and Anthony. They were beautiful and precious and owned every piece of him there was. Tony fell back asleep against his pillow as he tiredly played with a curl near Michelle's face.

* * *

><p>Seven-thirty came way too soon for Michelle after waking up four times throughout the night. Twice when the baby cried, Tony got up with him and nursed him back to sleep, which Michelle was grateful for. It made it a little easier to get up now.<p>

She turned in bed and looked over at her son who was beginning to stir in his bassinet. Not wanting him to cry and wake up Tony, she pulled herself out of bed and drew him from the little bed. She whispered to him as her cheeks lifted, "Morning little guy."

Anthony's eyes began to open and he almost started to fuss. "You want some breakfast? Let's go feed you, baby."

After the baby had been fed, Michelle put on a pot of coffee in the kitchen. She'd lived on the stuff before she got pregnant and it had been difficult to refrain from drinking it during her pregnancy, but she didn't miss it so much as now. With the baby here, she desperately wanted to live on the stuff again. (She could opt for a little decaf, but there was really no point in drinking that.) Regardless of being unable to drink it, she made some for Tony. At least the smell helped her wake up.

Michelle, cradling the baby carefully in one arm and pouring coffee into Tony's Cubs mug with her other hand, turned around to see Tony lazily entering the kitchen, still in the same thing he'd slept in. His eyes drooped from lack of proper sleep and his hair couldn't be characterized by anything but messy. She chuckled to herself at the sight, especially after realizing she must've looked at least as worn out and scraggily.

She greeted him, still smiling tiredly, "Morning, Daddy."

His lips twisted into a small grin as he rubbed his temples with his thumb and finger. "Oh that's right, I'm a daddy. I keep forgetting," he said dully, a lighthearted sarcasm coloring his statement.

A mock-confused look graced her face as she handed him the mug of black coffee she'd poured. "The four wake-up calls last night didn't remind you?"

"I do recall something of a crying baby all night." He kissed Michelle's lips softly. "Thanks."

"Thank the little one for getting me up." Michelle watched his eyes dance as he looked at the child in her arms. He kissed their son's head gently before taking a sip of his coffee.

"I would've gotten up with him, Michelle," Tony offered sincerely. "You're exhausted, sweetheart. You should rest."

"Eh, he needed to be fed anyways. And we're _both_ exhausted, Tony." She giggled humorlessly and ran her free hand through Tony's messy hair in attempt to straighten it up a little.

He sighed and scratched his forehead before nodding. Michelle lifted the baby up against her and went to toast a bagel for herself. "You'd think with all those years working at CTU we'd be used to this... Long nights, lack of sleep..."

Tony chuckled. "I don't think anything really prepares you for a baby."

He walked up to Michelle and kissed the back of her head before reaching for the child in her arms. "C'mere, Anthony." Michelle aided in handing him over and Tony kissed his cheek. "Hey, buddy." He brought him to his chest and looked at Michelle. "Go ahead and eat and then shower.. I got him."

She kissed his lips and smiled at him and their son. "Thanks."

"I love you."

She kissed him one more time. "I love you, too."

She grabbed her bagel and noticed Anthony's stillness as she walked to the table. "Is he asleep? How do you do that? How does he always just fall asleep with you?"

Tony smirked bashfully and shrugged, "He's a sleepy boy."

Michelle sighed and shook her head, smiling. "Nah, I think he's just a _daddy's_ boy," she stated decidedly, beaming at the sleeping child on his dad.

Tony lit up as he cocked his head to look at his little boy breathing serenely against his chest. Anthony did seem to take to him extra well. Michelle didn't seem to mind as she adored them from the table while eating her breakfast.

When Michelle had finished her bagel and taken a shower, she entered the living room to find Anthony smiling and stretching sprightly as Tony held him up on his lap and playfully cooed him. Her husband never looked so happy in his life. The picture perfect moment they created made her heart swell. Who at CTU would've ever pictured Tony like this? She was glad she got the pleasure to see it. He was already a great father. Just like she knew he would be.

She smiled at her handsome boys and stretched her arms out for the littler one - itching to hold the precious thing herself - as she walked across to where they sat. "My turn."


End file.
